Enthusiasm in Selling

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Enthusiasm in Selling

There is a popular fallacy that salespeople are born, not made. Whilst there is some vestige of truth in the statement, it is not for the reasons made so popular – i.e. it’s not that salespeople have the ‘gift of the gab’ but rather because these successful salespeople are genuinely enthusiastic about what they do and helping prospects find a [...]

February 22, 2013 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Life Skills, Sales Skills, Sales Talent

This does not mean that they are the life of the party or always talking about this and that. Enthusiasm should not be mistaken for extroversion. You can have people who are quiet, attentive but none the less enthusiastic about their passion, their purpose in life.

Enthusiasm is that extra spark that provides inspiration to have the confidence to take on the world. It is contagious and when mastered, it has enormous power.

Consider this approach to life…

We have a challenge. We take action. We succeed. Therefore we have a great deal of enthusiasm.

The statement however is presented in the wrong sequence. It should read…

We have a challenge. We generate enthusiasm for addressing the challenge. Therefore we succeed.

Few people are enthusiastic because they solved a problem; they solve a problem because they are enthusiastic.

The fortunate thing about enthusiasm is that if can be developed by combining three simple elements that we all have…

You must have an INTEREST in what you’re doing
You can hardly be expected to be enthusiastic about anything until you have some interest, and unless you know something about the subject, project or issue you cannot develop that interest.
You must have KNOWLEDGE of what you’re doing
Ignorance is bliss, particularly when you don’t really care or have no desire to be enthusiastic. But when you do learn something new and you begin to understand its importance, your enthusiasm gathers speed. The more you know the more enthusiastic you become simply because you can see more opportunities.
You must have BELIEF in what you are doing
If you don’t believe what you are saying you can’t expect to be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is contagious. No one can be exposed to its radiant force without being positively affected. It is power. The true enthusiast expresses power naturally and excellence is just a normal way of life.

To sell really well it helps to be enthusiastic about your company, your products, your team and what you stand for. If you can get that right there is no stopping you then.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Empathy – The New Sales Edge

Late last year we published the 12 Sales Trends Report for 2013 and released a brief summary of each sales trend in December. Over the year we will delve a little deeper into each sales trend. To kick off the New Year we will focus on the Sales Trend Empathy. This sales trend is seeing smart businesses making it a [...]

January 18, 2013 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Emotional Intelligence, Life Skills, Mindful selling, Neuroscience

This sales trend is seeing smart businesses making it a priority to redress the balance and develop our brains’ Interpersonal sensitivities: our empathetic side to take into account the needs of others as well as our own needs. We will see people working more in collaboration for the mutual benefit of each other while maintaining the best of analytical thinking and risk taking.

Why? Well, 2 reasons:

Sadly, for some years now the business world, by and large, has been worshipping at the corporate alter of Profit which has created an Empathy deficit… and most people (read employees, customers, communities, etc.) do not like it. It’s not sustainable by itself.
There has been, and still is, a shift away from product as central to the complex sale with businesses and markets becoming more intertwined, and people now featuring at the heart of viable business relationships.

emotional qualities such as compassion, empathy, and benevolence can be trained

And the good news is that the emotional qualities such as compassion, empathy, and benevolence can be trained: they can be proactively developed and mastered.

Effective selling and building profitable businesses in 21^st Century is all about developing viable relationships based on real value and substance which is a combination of the tangible and intangible.

The challenge will be to reconcile the prevailing norms of the cool headedness of the analytical thinking brain and the risk taking brain of the ‘cowboy’ entrepreneur with the empathetic moral compass brain as we navigate and manage the impact of our decisions on individuals, customers, suppliers and communities.

However, making Empathy a priority is not that easy. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the importance of being ‘analytical’ in business, being rational, yet the newspapers are littered with stories of CEOs and leaders whose rationality and analytical thinking was of the highest order yet the decisions they made failed to consider the people factors, at worst, put the lives of people and communities at risk, destroying or severely eroding their business brands and future viability as well, creating horrendous consequences for those affected by their decisions.

We also read countless stories of risk taking entrepreneurs who are lauded as business celebrities one day for the way they have taken a business from zero to hero faster than the speed of light and then canned the next when their venture takes a dive leaving people jobless and out of pocket, and investors poorer for the experience.

Interestingly, in this increasingly complex world, capabilities such as empathy, compassion and benevolence are emerging as critical qualities of highly successful people, teams, organisations and communities. Even in the highly competitive world of business and selling, it has been found that those sales people and leaders who are able to incorporate these qualities into their daily work and personal lives are finding greater levels of success. This is coming in the form of better sales results and healthier, more prosperous client relationships as well as better personal health, resilience, and overall job and personal satisfaction.

Numerous articles and books are written about that ‘One thing’ or that ‘Secret to Success’ that will solve all your issues – and what happens? It doesn’t work by itself – it needs to work as part of a system. And so it is with the brain. The brain is a complex network and being able to access and develop key areas of the brain allowing them to work in concert and counterbalance each other for positive outcomes is the key.

If you want to understand more about Empathy as a powerful societal force you may enjoy watching a very interesting video (see below) about a concept called Outrospection by philosopher and author Roman Krznaric who explains how we can help drive social change by stepping outside ourselves.

Now is the time to reconcile and place equal importance on developing the empathetic parts of our brain as our new sales and business edge.

If you would like to you can purchase and download the detailed 49 page report of the 12 Sales Trends for 2013 now to see which sales trends will have the greatest impact on your sales optimisation efforts in 2013.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Sales Lessons out of the mouths of babes

‘Out of the mouths of babes’ is one of those expressions you hear adults utter occasionally. Often amazed at the remarkable or insightful things children say, I think we do children an injustice by thinking this is an infrequent or rare occurrence. The many children I have met over the years are very perceptive, smart and able to see through [...]

December 13, 2012 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Life Skills

persistent, focused, determined, creative, curious and uninhibited

You may recall that I wrote an article a couple of years ago titled, ‘Where is your inner 6 year old when you need them?’ In that article I pointed out that the very qualities we want in effective salespeople are those we often see in young children. The wonderful thing about most children is that they are persistent, focused, determined, creative, curious and uninhibited. They often stand their ground to get what they want – many of them are unyielding… at least for a while until society in some way shape or form knocks these qualities out of many of them.

Sadly, too many times we inadvertently shut down these very qualities we want to encourage in later life. So it was with great pleasure and curiosity that Peter Finkelstein and I recently attended a business presentation pitch prepared by two young boys from The Melbourne Montessori School*.

max & spencer during the presentation

A couple of months ago one of the teachers, informed us that, as part of their end of year project, Max (aged 11) and Spencer (aged 12) wanted to do a business pitch and were wanting honest feedback on their idea and a chance to present in front of experienced business professionals. Peter Finkelstein, our head of sales strategy, and I jumped at the chance to see how well these young boys would stand up and deliver in this space. The result was amazing; far better than we hoped for and, far better than many adults we have seen perform in similar conditions.

So what was it that made these boys special? Well let’s set the scene with some background information. Firstly the boys were allowed and encouraged to do this assignment as a part of their school education. This was seen as normal (and so it should be).

The Business of their Business: Max and Spencer’s business specialises in creating new innovative products and ideas. They then look for viable business partners who can manufacture and distribute these products in various markets showing them how they could grow new markets, make more sales and, yes more money.

present an exciting concept for Lego to make profit

The purpose of their presentation: To present an exciting concept that could open new markets for Lego. (It was our job as the adults to be Lego executives in this instance.) Post the presentation we were able to ask questions and the boys would do their best to respond.

The boys had invested many hours in researching their markets, coming up with ideas and concepts, preparing a detailed presentation with the WIIFM (what’s in it for me the customer), product designs, target market information, projected earnings, partnership and IP arrangements, etc. It was impressive.

After the hour long presentation and Q&A session, Peter and I were walking back to our office discussing what we had just participated in.

Peter says the analogy is simple. “As young minds, we are free spirits, less inhibited and prepared to ask questions. As we grow into adulthood we become reluctant to ask, more conscious of our egos and more willing to guess at the answers.”

Peter went on to say, “Well, this week I learned another valuable lesson that all salespeople – myself included – can learn from. And you guessed it, it was from two elfin-like boys.

Asked to do a business presentation as part of a school project these two boys researched the facts, had a clear view of what they wanted to say and what they wanted to get out of the presentation. And here’s the rub… they stuck to their guns.

Quizzed after their presentation by five adults – two of whom were total strangers – these boys were prepared to answer the questions, courteously refute and counter argue with adults, without displaying any disrespect. But the big thing is that unlike many salespeople, when pushed, they didn’t back off and offer discounts or rebates, special deals or off the table discussions. They presented cogent arguments for why their proposition was valid and in the best interests of the customer.

Here were two youngsters demonstrating that if you are confident in yourself and in your presentation, if you truly believe that you are offering value that the buyer wants, there is no reason to resort to needless discounting.

Lessons Learned

There were many other lessons to be gained from the exercise, but for me watching the two boys perform I couldn’t help but think of the many excuses I have heard from salespeople over the last 40 years about why they didn’t get the sale. What came to mind was the counter-arguments put forward in the many coaching sessions I have had, when I tried to point out that the salesperson backed off too early, or failed to fully grasp the value of his or her proposition. When challenged, these youngsters relied on facts to support their argument. They had researched their argument and had hard, irrefutable data to back up their claims. Now, if salespeople took the trouble to do the same thing, rather than relying on someone else to produce a brochure, sales would be that much better.”

I agree with everything Peter said. But what I also love is that these children wanted and were allowed to do this project in the first place. I know there are other schools encouraging similar projects and it is a testament to a teacher’s ability to see the valuable lessons at every level of this project. Here are just a few examples the teacher gleaned as being educational and relevant to school and business:

Maths: working out percentages, averages, values, distribution, pricing, margins
Language and Communication: written and verbal; getting your message across and making yourself understood; asking and responding to questions
Research: finding and gathering information; making sense of it and putting it into sensible charts that can make effective cases
Design and spatial awareness: creating specifications and plans, mapping country distributions
Interpersonal skills: presentation skills, questioning and listening, thinking on your feet, etc.
IT: using PowerPoint, the internet, computers, etc. for all sorts of things.
Confidence and resilience

I do not know if Max and Spencer truly understand the feat they achieved that day and in this project. They may think that they could have done better and of course we all can, but Spencer and Max, Peter and I want you to know that you did an amazing job; you were outstanding and no doubt this experience will be a bedrock in your foundation of life if you want it to be. The courage, confidence, consideration and determination you displayed will take you far. We are indeed very proud to have attended your pitch presentation.

So as the school year comes to a close I think we can all take heart that some of our future leaders, business entrepreneurs and innovators are already planning their and our futures.

*Some of you may be aware that my children are Montessori educated. A Montessori education is characterised by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. It teaches children how to think, not just what to think and encourages an enquiring, curious mind that wants to explore Why? How? Why not? as much as What?. FYI Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google fame are Montessori educated. I want to say thank you to Naomi, the Melbourne Montessori Cycle 3 teacher who encouraged Max and Spencer, and to our Principal, Gay Wales and the other parents who attended the presentation and treated it with the professionalism and respect it deserved. More power to you. And while they do say it takes a brave mother to raise a Montessori child , I wouldn’t have it any other way.

sales trends 2013

PS You can get a Sneak Preview as well as purchase and download the detailed 49 page report of the 12 Sales Trends for 2013 now to see which trends will have the greatest impact on your sales optimisation efforts in 2013. In the meantime you can download our past trends here for free.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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On your marks… Get set… GO!

A prosperous life after elite sport is critically important to elite athletes as many of them have dedicated the best part of their lives (some into their 30’s) pursing excellence in their chosen sport often leaving education or business pursuits on the side. These elite athletes know that achieving excellence in sport requires dedication, determination, discipline and sacrifice. So what [...]

December 6, 2012 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Education in Sales, Life Skills, Sales Training, Self Development, Self Promotion, Success

These are just two of the many questions asked by the ACE (Athlete Career & Education) advisors of the many Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athletes when looking for this year’s participants in the third VIS Barrett Business Scholarship program.

For the last 2-3 months I have been working with 11 elite athletes from the VIS helping them develop their business ideas and actual businesses via the VIS Barrett Business Scholarship program. And this week three of the athletes stepped up and presented their vision and Go-to-market action plans to a panel looking to win a business/sales coaching scholarship with Barrett in 2013.

The process has been amazing for all concerned with some incredible insights, ideas and initiatives now in progress and of course, there was a winner.

What was fantastic about the 2012 program is we had athletes from many sports including able-bodied and paralympic athletes: wheel chair rugby, track & field, golf, cycling, rowing, canoeing slalom, snowboarding and equestrian/para-triathlon; we had Olympic and Paralympic medalists and an athlete who had just returned from their third Olympics campaign looking at their 4^th in 2016 at Rio.

What was even more amazing was the range of businesses that were represented on the program, each very different and each requiring a considered approach about how they need to get to market and position themselves effectively to win the hearts and minds of their customers and markets.

Using the Sales Essentials Models, philosophy and principles coupled with brain science we worked together developing viable Go-to-market action plans for each of their businesses or business ideas. The collective learning shared across the group really accelerated the understanding of how businesses can differ in how they need to go to market. While there are common elements to be applied in all aspects of a functioning business and especially in sales, the real learning came when the athletes realised how they needed to fine tune Go-to-market action plans to hit the spot and get traction. For instance when we looked at prospecting and developing new business each participant needed to consider how they would prospect for new opportunities and get new clients on board. By comparing and contrasting businesses we were able to see the weighting in direct calls to individuals or a weighting to social media campaigns needed in each case and there were distinct differences.

Alli van Ommen (Victorian Tigers vs Drummoyne Devils)

Like the action and results oriented people they are, after each session these athletes would go out and apply what they learnt and examined, bringing back real life examples of the applications of their efforts to the group. Each session they continued to build on solid foundations. What helped is that we created a peer to peer learning environment which is a fantastic way to accelerate learning. With four sessions run over 2 months the athletes were able to gain entire group experiences ‘positive interdependence’, face-to-face interaction, group processing and individual and group accountability while working on their own businesses. We consciously orchestrated each learning exercise which allowed the participants to fully engage in peer learning and reap the benefits.

What I love about this program is the opportunity to work with high performance individuals and see the ease with which they can transfer their knowledge and experience about being an elite athlete into the business arena. Open to learning and not frightened to be challenged, here are some of the athletes’ insights from the program:

I never thought I was in selling and then realised that indeed I am in sales every day. If I do not make those calls then nothing changes and I get nowhere fast. However if I make the calls and the answer is ‘No’ at least I know. But to my pleasant surprise there are so many Yes out there I just keep calling and guess what, there is business out there.
I realised that I had to pay as much attention to the prospect pipeline as I did to the customers we had got on board, if I didn’t we would have no business next season.
Getting the value proposition right and making it resonate with customers was crucial. It is so important to see the world from your customers’ eyes.
I never knew really listening to someone was so hard – but when you do it’s really worth it. Those listening and questioning exercises are vital.

Steph Hickey, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, Warwick Draper(top to bottom)

Not all the athletes chose to go to final presentation evening; some were still working their way through the formation of their business ideas. But those who presented did an excellent job. The panel was extremely impressed and it was a tough decision to choose the winner.

Our finalists were:

Steph Hickey – Professional snowboarder / Olympian/ TV personality/ Speaker / Director of Premium Snow Tours
Cameron McKenzie-McHarg – Rower, silver medalist at 2008 Bejing Games, finance specialist. 776BC Facebook page www.776BC.com
Warwick Draper – Canoeing Slalom specialist, triple Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012), canoe/kayak designer and coach

Warwick Draper was the eventual winner after a tight race to the finish line, so watch this space. If you want to know more about Warwick hear him speak about his preparation for the London Olympics.

And if you are interested in how past participants and winners of the VIS Barrett Business Scholarship program are doing you can listen to and watch them via the youtube links below.

Alli Van Ommen (sport – water polo; business – osteopathy)

Shane Reese & Luke Harper (sport – swimming and life saving; business – swim school)

Matt Berriman (sport – cricket; business digital media, general manager, business leader)

Don Elgin (sport – paralympic bronze medalist 2000 Sydney, athletics, business – speakers bureau)

Again it has been a privilege to watch new businesses come to life and work with such an amazing group of people.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Watch who you let near your mind…again!

October 5, 2012 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Brand & Reputation, Ethics & Values, Life Skills, Neuroscience

In early 2008, as the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) loomed, I wrote ‘Watch who you let near your mind’. This was a timely reminder about the importance of maintaining a healthy mindset, looking for the facts for an accurate read on what is happening in the market place so you can make wise decisions. It served to warn about falling into the trap of relying on innuendo, hearsay and group think to define your future success. Guess what? I find myself again talking about the same issue in 2012, even when Australia is in pretty good shape.

True, it’s hard not to notice the world’s issues and financial crisis that continues in Europe and USA. It wouldn’t be wise if we didn’t examine the consequences and impact of these events on our own lives and businesses. That seems smart. But the fact is Australia has remained relatively unscathed by the GFC and its after effects. A well managed banking systems, stable government, diverse economy – remember the mining sector contributes around 7% to our GDP and the foundation of the Australian economy is built on SMEs. 95% of all businesses in Australia are SME.

So why so much doom and gloom lately?

there are more opportunities ahead than the media shows

According to the six-monthly Ipsos Mackay Report, obtained by The Age, many Australians are supposedly more pessimistic about the future and increasingly worried about their job security; they are feeling disenfranchised and distrustful of the Federal Government and the Opposition. Many are saying they feel the same or worse than they did 12 months ago – and fear what will happen when the “mining boom” ends.

The amount of toxic talk swirling around the ether (i.e. social media, news media, businesses, market places, etc.) is incredible. The vitriol, the pessimism, the fear is palpable. It seems the facts have been lost in the turmoil. We need look no further than the current state of leadership and level of debate in Federal and State politics to see how not to lead, debate or create a future for Australians to follow. By continuing to behave in this manner our political leaders are inadvertently creating a climate of fear and worry based on Effect not Fact that is influencing our confidence to do business and be a vibrant, resilient community.

What about our own businesses? Are we as leaders also contributing to the issue? What are we doing to present the facts, design strategies and create climates of opportunity for our sales teams, customers and suppliers across the value chain? Are we choosing instead to listen to a narrow band of information that feeds our anxieties and further erodes our business confidence and success?

The Ipsos Mackay Report compared the global economy to a hospital, saying: ”Europe’s on life support, the US is in the general ward and Australia is in the ward for hypochondriacs.”

So are we indeed a bunch of hypochondriacs? Have we let ourselves be held hostage by hearsay? Do we ever ask ourselves ‘How much of this worry is actually true, real and justified?’ Without facts to guide us, this negative sentiment can turn falsehoods, innuendo, hearsay and groupthink into realities perpetuating our own demise. Negative talk is very contagious.

We are wired for flight, fight or freeze

This is why it is so important that we watch who we let near our minds!

The human brain is wired to primarily pick up on signs of danger, caution and risk. We had, after all, to look out for the sabre tooth tiger. In the absence of physically life threatening danger, we inadvertently pick up on other perceived threats and pay attention to what can look like risky i.e. bad news. And with so many of them around and the continuous negative talk, it affects our ability to see and take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of us. Because the fact is there are plenty of opportunities to do business in Australia.

Unable or unwilling to distinguish FACT from EFFECT we get stuck in Flight, Fight or Freeze mode, we become chronically distressed and ineffectual thus limiting about ability to think clearly and make wise decisions.

As business leaders and salespeople we need to deal with uncertainty and probability as we navigate the ever changing world of business and sales. We rationally know that we need to develop strategies, do research and look for evidence of opportunities and then pursue them with confidence. Yet so many people still fall into the trap of believing the negative talk and losing sight of opportunities. In times of change and uncertainty, when people should be excited about new ideas, concepts and horizons, many become fearful.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. I know. I recall in my recruitment consulting days (late 80′s and early 90′s) the economy was much worse than it is today. Unemployment and job redundancies were really high and interest rates were 17.5%. Many recruitment consultants were going out of business because they were scared and got caught in the Flight, Fight or Freeze mode, not knowing what to do. Instead of falling for the group think, some of us looked at the market and said: “Just because jobs are harder to find doesn’t mean there aren’t any jobs. Companies still exist. Someone will be in business and someone will want to hire good people so let’s get prospecting and find those companies who still want to hire staff and be in business.” By taking that approach and having a positive, determined attitude, my colleagues and I had some of our best results ever. We looked for opportunity and it was there. Whilst everyone else was in despair and whinging about how hard it was, we were getting the work.

I did the same thing in 2008/09 and we are doing the same thing today. Good business management is a sensible mix of cost control and growth management. It’s not only not necessary, it’s highly discouraged to leave your sales opportunities to chance or to let fear rule you.

Many years ago I was shown the following and feel that it is as appropriate today as it was then. When you look at the word F E A R the acronym stands for:

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

There is no denying that we live in challenging and uncertain times what with climate change, the digital revolution, issues in the Middle East and the financial market ups and downs just to name a few, but in midst of all of this there are so many opportunities that businesses can develop and take advantage of. If we live with our heads in the sand all we will get is a swift kick in the butt as those who can see the future forge ahead.

You need to see this glass half full to stay in business

So let’s get our leaders and salespeople out looking for the evidence and talking with our respective customers about their priorities, goals and opportunities. Let both them know that we are in business and there to help them move forward and be successful. By being visible and letting our customers know we are there to help them do business we will begin to dispel negativities and create more opportunities. The reality is that in Australia we have a lot to be thankful for.

Our economy and community are in much better shape than the media, politicians and other naysayers would have us believe.

If you are looking for an antidote to all that negativity, need a little inspiration and would like to see what other proactive, positive people are doing to make a positive difference to the world, here are some great online “Good News” sites for your reading pleasure:

•   Yes magazine
•   Ode Magazine for intelligent optimists
•   Huffington Post Good News
•   Positive News
•   New Economics
•   The case for optimism by Bill Clinton

As Norman Vincent Peal said: ‘Change your thinking and you change your world’

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au